Moving On
by MasterSkywalker96
Summary: What if Jack didn't die? What if he and Rose could move on to the life they'd always dreamed of? This is their story.
1. Chapter 1

This is a story on a new film for me. The only stories I've really written up till now have been on the same films so I wanted to try something new. I've always loved the Titanic both in history and in the films so I thought I'd write about it. Enjoy!

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The lone lifeboat drifted out toward the horizon as Rose held on to Jack's arm. "Jack?" Rose shook his arm gently to awake him. "Jack? There's a boat, they've come back." Again she shook him, a little rougher this time. "Jack, wake up, please." The boat drifted further away, leaving the newly formed graveyard.

Rose directed her attention towards the boat now; "Come back!" Her voice was pitifully weak and she barely made a sound but managed to elicit a reaction from Jack. He was rasping through each breath and his eyes remained shut, but he was alive which was good enough for Rose. She couldn't swim for the boat or shout after it, but there was a whistle in the mouth of the dead officer she recognized as Sixth Officer Moody. She did her best to secure Jack to the makeshift raft and slid into the water before pulling herself towards the deceased officer.

She pulled the whistle from his lips and put it to her mouth and blew. She blew as hard as she could, only stopping to take short breaths. "Come Around!" A beam of light being directed at Rose followed the distant call from the lifeboat; she blew into the whistle once more before turning to return to Jack. He smiled slightly as he saw the lifeboat from the corner of his eye, Rose made sure that he was lifted in first before her. Both were covered in blankets alongside the five other survivors pulled from the water.

**Next Morning**

Rose watched through half closed eyes as Jack was lifted above Rose onto a ship known to Rose as the 'Carpathia' through the bold yellow writing on the bow. Their boat seemed to be the last to arrive because Rose saw no others in the water as she was hoisted onto the ship. She watched as Jack was led to the third class area of the ship while an officer tried to lead her towards first. She pushed the man to the side and followed Jack, she couldn't bear going back to the upper class life she had endured and suffered. Jack sat on an overturned lifeboat with a blanket round his body; he smiled when he recognized Rose who was disguised by her coverings.

Rose sat down beside him and leaned her head on his chest; "I thought I'd lost you." The few moments she felt without Jack were the scariest of her life.

"I told you I was a survivor." Jack barely got the words out, the weakness in his voice worried Rose. His hands were shaking and they felt icy cold when Rose held them. "Don't worry about me. It wasn't half as cold as Lake Wissota!" Rose smiled uneasily at Jack's humour.

"You should eat something." Rose had heard something about soup being handed when she had gotten off the lifeboat. She climbed to her feet before Jack stood up aswell. "No, you stay here Rose. I was going to look for Fabrizio and Tommy anyways and knowing how those two eat, they'll be where the food is!" Rose laughed again which stalled her attempts to protest, which would have been in vain anyway. He covered Rose with his blanket and stumbled up the stairs towards the makeshift soup kitchen.

A few minutes after Jack's exit, her 'fiancée' ignored an officer and began to scan the crowd for the easily identifiable redhead. Rose kept her head beneath the blanket and only turned when Cal was facing away from her. The seconds he stood there for seemed like hours for Rose before he moved back up the steps towards first class. The relief felt by Rose was greater than when she was pulled into the lifeboat.

Jack made his way back towards Rose about five minutes later with two metal plates full of soup. An officer holding a clipboard stopped him. "May I take your name sir?" Jack nodded; "Jack Dawson." The officer proceeded to scribble down the details before moving on.

Another officer obstructed Jack's view of Rose from the bottom of the stairs but he could hear their conversation as he approached. "Dawson, Rose Dawson." The officer wrote the name down; "Thank you miss." Jack stood open mouthed and became visible to Rose as the officer moved away. "Rose Dawson? Are you of the Boston Dawsons?" Jack smiled as he recited the question asked to him earlier on their voyage. "No, I was hoping to be considered as a Chippewa Falls Dawson." Both laughed this time as Jack handed over the soup.

Rose ate the soup and bread quickly like it was last meal ever. "You know, I've been asked to take another man's name before." Rose spoke with a mouth full of food, something she'd have been punished for as a girl. Jack kissed her on the cheek; "Bon appetit Miss Dawson!" Jack's French accent really should've sounded better than it was after all the time he'd spent there, Rose held in most of her food as she laughed at him.

**3 Days Later**

Rose and Jack stood hand in hand as the gangway was lowered out onto the New York pier. After first and second class had departed, the pair wandered out into the metropolis full of grief and pain. Most onlookers looked at Jack and Rose with pity and jealousy as they had survived but their loved ones hadn't.

Rose held Jack close as they walked past the first class cars. Cal and Ruth and the first class lifestyle were the only things that stood between a life of pain and a fresh start with Jack. Her heart beat rapidly as she progressed past the line of automobiles.

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I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!

Thanks!


	2. Freedom

Finally! Here's chapter 2!

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The fear almost tore into two pieces as she kept her head buried into Jack's chest. She knew that in one of those cars was a grieving mother and a vengeful ex-fiancée. This fear was much greater than when she was hanging off the stern of Titanic.

Jack also kept his head down but was looking around to try and spot the pair before they saw him. Rose's fear was starting to rub off on him and he didn't like the thought that a man who had tried to kill him was only a few feet away. "Come Josephine, in my flying machine." Jack whispered the words to Rose with his cheek pressed against the top of her head.

Rose sang along quietly but didn't let go of Jack. She felt as though everyone was looking at her and Jack and trying to work out who they were. Rose had her eyes shut the whole time so she was worried when Jack stopped and hugged her tight. She opened her eyes to see a smiling Jack and the empty backstreet they were alone in.

Rose's eyes widened and a smile enveloped her face. "Am I…Is this?" Jack kissed the dumbfounded Rose before leading her out onto a long street and climbing onto a tram. "I feel so…alive. For the first time in my life Jack, I feel free." Rose was excited, the mix of adrenaline and exhilaration was a whole new emotion.

Jack's smile lit up the tram-car; "We can do whatever you want Rose, wherever you want to go, we'll go." Jack felt like he'd seen everything and drawn it, now he wanted to share those places with Rose. "If you call yourself a Dawson, you need to live like one, off God's good humour."

Rose's reaction was to smile uneasily and shift in her seat. "Well Jack, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. Or rather, to show you." Rose put one hand into her pocket and removed a wad of ten-dollar bills; Jack froze at the sight of them. "There's about $15,000 in my pocket Jack." Rose whispered to him, most of the others on the tram probably had never seen that amount of money in their lives, Jack being one of them. "Cal must have forgotten about them when he gave me his coat." Rose knew about the other thing he had forgotten about, but she didn't want to shock Jack too much.

"I guess we're fine in that regard. Well, we really can go anywhere now!" For the first time in his life, Jack felt rich. Not in the sense that he suddenly wanted to drink fine wine and own a vineyard, he felt like he could support himself and make his life secure.

"I'd like to go to Santa Monica Jack. You were always talking about it, I want to see if it lives up to its name." Rose had always kept hidden and tucked away by her mother. Her adventurous side had always been neglected and she wanted to let it run free with Jack.

**3 Days Later,**

After a drawn out search for tickets, Jack had finally secured their passage across the US to the West Coast. For the most part, Rose was looking forward to their journey, except for their stop in Philadelphia. Although they were only to be there for around ten minutes, she decided to take the chance to go to the bathroom instead of having to look out at her birthplace. All she wanted to do was leave it behind her.

Jack however, stayed in his seat happily. That was until he saw the man he had hated since their first meeting, the man who had treated Rose horrifically, the man who had tried to shoot them both, Cal Hockley. He was leaving the train alongside Rose's mother, who looked like she had forgotten the 'death' of her daughter already. Jack tried to stay out of view but it was already too late, he heard the sliding of the glass door and his heart stopped, the wrath of a steel tycoon was upon him.

"Dawson? Your alive?" Jack expected a surprised tone but all he could pick up on was venom and disappointment. "I could ask you the same question, but you had an arrangement." Jack tried to be sarcastic but the fear of Hockley finding Rose drowned out the humour. Hockley still shifted uneasily when remembering the image of Murdoch throwing the money back at him. "I couldn't find the girl anywhere, and I haven't seen you until now. Where is she?" Jack took a deep breath; "She's d…dead." He shut his eyes after speaking to make the lie legitimate, Hockley wasn't buying it though. "You're a poor liar Dawson. I will find her; I've got people working on it now. And when I do, you'll find yourself in pain you couldn't even imagine." Jack exhaled loudly as Hockley left the train and walked past the window, his entourage followed like slaves.

Rose rejoined him as the train started moving again. "I can't stand to look at it. Philadelphia is one place that hold too many bad memories, and houses one too many bad people." So many images of her childhood flashed through Rose's head as she leaned it on Jack's shoulder, none of them were pleasant. Jack hugged her and held her close; "You can say that again."

**3 Days Later,**

Rose stepped off the train into the warm sunshine of California. Jack followed with a lone suitcase and a smile on his face; he could hear the waves on the beach already. "It's beautiful Jack." Rose hadn't even taken a step before deciding how much she loved the place, it was clear to her why Jack loved it.

Jack put his other arm around Rose and started walking. "It gets better Rose. The friend that I was telling you about owns a house right on the beach! The water is a lot warmer here than in the North Atlantic." Rose shuddered as she remembered the freezing water and the actions of all the people she knew; "Thank you Jack."

Jack raised an eyebrow; "For what?"

"For saving me."

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I'll try to update tomorrow! Thanks for reading!


	3. Santa Monica

A very short chapter before a bigger one tomorrow!

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Jack's friend, Louis, owned a small house on the seafront. Jack had visited him once before during the spring of 1910, before he left to explore the world. Form what Jack could remember; it was the beautiful place in the world.

Rose stepped out of a tram infront of the house. It was painted red with a large porch infront; the sea was so close she could hear the waves breaking off the sand. Louis stepped down from the porch and hugged Jack before kissing Rose on the back of the hand. "Louis Johnson, pleasure to meet you ma'am." Louis was a tall man, very stocky with some facial hair.

Rose saw Jack trying not to laugh at his friend; "Rose DeWitt Bukater, nice to meet you too." Louis nodded before jabbing Jack in the arm; "It's been two years Jack! I get a letter in the mail and now you're here!"

Jack began to walk towards the house; "You've got this place all to yourself Louis, I thought you might like the company!" Louis' mother had died the week after Jack left and he still felt bad about it, Louis was a friendly guy, but was wary to let people into his life.

Louis patted Jack on the back; "Your welcome anytime Jack. There's a room upstairs for you both and supper is almost ready so I hope you're both hungry."

…

The meal prepared by Louis was very simple, potatoes and fish, which Rose wasn't very used to. To Jack, it was the greatest meal he'd eaten in a long time. Still, Rose saw it as an opportunity to get to know Louis better.

"You have a lovely house, Mr. Johnson, it must be expensive to maintain?" Rose hadn't been fantastic at making conversation with people out-with her family, so she liked to get the formal questions out of the way.

Louis shook his head; "Not at all miss. My mother left it to me after she passed away. I work on the shrimp boats so I could never afford to buy this place, my father was a lawyer so it was no great expense for him."

"The shrimp boats must have been how you and Jack met then?" Rose could remember how his stories were surprising and shocking to the landed gentry of first class.

Louis looked at Jack and chuckled; "He told you that he _worked _on the shrimping boats? He caught some to make it look like he was working and then drew pictures for the rest of the time!"

Jack smiled and twirled his fork in his hand; "Whose drawings are hung up on the bridge of the boat now Louis?" Jack's greatest feeling was when someone hung one of his drawings up. It made him feel like he'd contributed to something.

**2 Hour Later,**

"So Jack walks up to the fish vendor and shouts "You want shrimp! Cause I gotta' whole lot of the stuff!" The relatively unfunny story retold by Louis was hilarious to the now slightly drunken group. "This man here was a barrel of laughs and still is! Hell, he's the luckiest guy in the world! First, he gets to leave to see the world. Then he wins a trip on Titanic, and survives. And now, he's got a gal like you!" Louis winked at Jack before finishing his beer.

"Well, it's getting late and I'm out early tomorrow for work." Louis got up leave and Jack and Rose followed him. The oak stairs creaked as the stumbled up towards their rooms. Louis grabbed Jack's arm before he went into his room; "Thanks for coming back Jack, I appreciate it."

Jack hugged his friend; "It's not like I've got anywhere else to go!" Jack's attempt at a serious face failed and he burst into laughter leaving Louis to comically shake his head. "Get some sleep Jack. You'll need it for work tomorrow."

Louis smiled as he walked down the corridor. It was Jack's turn to shake his head with an amused look before blowing out the candle in the hallway and shutting his bedroom door.

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That was just a short update, sorry if you were expecting something bigger.

Like I said, there'll be a bigger one tomorrow and a few more updates in the next couple of days!

Thanks for reading!


	4. Homesick

Here is the promised update, just a short one again. Enjoy!

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**1 Week Later,**

Jack stepped down from the fishing boat onto the pier when a police officer grabbed his arm; "Jack Dawson?" Jack nodded uneasily; "There's been an incident involving a woman named Rose, she says she know you?" Before the officer could tell him anymore, Jack was sprinting across the beach towards the house. He could tell from the broken window that someone had tried to break in.

Rose was sitting on the porch, visibly shaken, when Jack ran up and hugged her. "What…what happened?" Jack had never seen Rose like this before; she hadn't been this scared even when the Titanic's stern was sinking.

"They were in suits. They said…they said they worked for Cal. They know where we are Jack." Jack's fist clenched in anger as he glanced at Louis inspecting the damage done to his house. "Louis, we'll pay for the damage."

Louis shook his head; "I know a couple of guys who owe me a favour anyways. You two better get out of here though. If this is the Cal that Jack told me about, I wouldn't want to hang around waiting for him to arrive." Jack nodded and jogged into the house. He returned a few minutes later with two suitcases that were hastily put together and a satchel with all of their valuables.

Louis was waiting at the door and hugged both of them tightly; "Come back and visit soon. Cal Hockley will be leaving with a black eye if he ever comes round here again." Rose's ace lit up in delight when she thought about Louis punching him. "Thanks again Louis, I'll see you soon." Jack shook Louis' hand before leading Rose down the street back towards the train station.

**3 Days Later,**

"Jack, you've still not told me where we're going?" Rose was worried at how quiet Jack had been throughout their journey. She'd never seen him like this, they had only engaged in a handful of conversations.

"You really want to know?" Rose nodded her head quickly. "Chippewa Falls." Rose smiled at Jack; "Why didn't you say so?" Jack took a deep breath before answering; "There's a house in Chippewa Falls left to me by my parents. I know a lot of people and have a lot of friends, and then there's the others."

Rose raised an eyebrow; "The others?" Rose wasn't entirely sure how anyone could not like Jack. "I left just after a robbery. There's only one bank in Chippewa Falls and most of the town keeps their savings locked up in there. I took all the money in my bank account out just before I left so I could take it with me around the world. The robbers took everything out of the bank, all of the money. Of course, because I'd taken out all of my money and was planning to leave, people assumed I was in on it. Most of the town played it down and supported me but some others weren't the same. I guess you could say I was sort of chased out of town." Rose saw the sadness in Jack's eyes as the town came into view. "I don't know if they'll be glad to see me." Rose squeezed Jack's hand; "They will be, I can tell."

…

The pair hopped of the train onto the quiet platform and strolled hand in hand through the town. It was a quiet Sunday morning so must of the town was either at church or at home. Jack was happy to not be seen as he led Rose towards his house.

The tree-lined street on which the house was located seemed perfect to Rose. She and Jack would be hidden from the world whenever they were at home. The house itself had two storeys with a porch infront. There was a stone path that wove its way through the garden up to the porch steps. It was a heartwarming to Jack that his old neighbor, Joe, had been cutting the grass throughout the time he was away.

Rose was speechless as Jack opened the front door and the hallway welcomed them. The whole house was still intact with paintings hanging on the walls and plates and cutlery still in the drawers. "I just left everything as it was. I couldn't take it with me so I left like Mom would've had it." Rose was used to countless maids and servants running around performing their duties, this was all she wanted. "I think it's wonderful Jack."

…

Later that day, Rose convinced Jack to take her out to see the town. It seemed that most of the townspeople still recognized Jack as they acknowledged his return, some differently than others. They were heading towards the café that Jack remembered from his childhood when the police sergeant stepped out infront of him.

"Jack Dawson? Well I be damned! I didn't think I'd ever see you again." The police officer forcefully shook Jack's hand.

"Sergeant McCauley, it's great to see you to! This is Rose, we met on Titanic." Jack remembered that McCauley was just a regular officer when he left Chippewa Falls for the first time.

McCauley shook Rose's hand aswell before pointing at the police station. "That's why I wanted to talk to you Jack. There's a man in the station looking for a young couple by the names of Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater. The conductor was telling me you got off the train so I thought it might be you he was after." A man in a dark suit walked across the road from the police station followed by what seemed like a bodyguard. "In fact, here he is now. Goes by the name Hockley, you know him?" Jack's heart skipped a beat as he felt Rose's nails dig into his hand as she gripped onto him. "Yeah Sergeant, we know him."

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I know a lot of stories have Rose and Jack go to Chippewa Falls but this one will be different so keep reading please! I'll try and update again tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!


	5. Pains

This is just a very short update before a big one tomorrow. Enjoy!

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One of the bodyguards roughly pushed the police officer aside before trying to lock Jack's arms behind his back. Jack hit the man in the stomach before being restrained by the second bodyguard. "Let him go!" Rose lunged at the bodyguard before Cal caught her by the arm and pulled her backwards.

Cal began to drag her over the road; "Come on Rose, your mother is waiting in the car." She tried to dig her heels into the ground but it was no use as she continued to move.

Jack wriggled and squirmed to break free of his attacker but the man held his grip firm. The police officer stood in disbelief along with many other onlookers at the scene as it unfolded. "Sergeant McCauley do something! Please!" McCauley hesitated and glanced at Jack before drawing his pistol and pointing it at Cal.

"Let the lady go!" McCauley was shaking while pointing the gun. In a small town like Chippewa Falls, he'd never needed to before. Cal froze before turning slowly to face the officer, the smug look on his face was surprising to the officer, and it wasn't to Rose.

Cal rubbed his jaw and smiled; "Do you know…who I am?" Rose sighed at Cal and looked up at Jack, who was still trying to break the grip of the bodyguard.

The officer held his composure and tightened his grip on the pistol; "I really couldn't care who you are. Let the lady go!" McCauley had his sights fixed on the area between Cal's eyes.

Cal looked skywards and laughed; "Or what? You'll shoot? If you so much as continue to point that thing at me I'll have you out of a job tomorrow." Cal's eyes narrowed on those of the officer.

McCauley hesitated slightly yet he still held the gun pointing towards Cal. "I said let her go!" McCauley swung around to look at the bodyguards; "You too, let him go!" McCauley fixed the gun on the man holding Jack, who proceeded to relieve his grip and raise his hands in the air.

"Nobody can say I didn't give you a chance officer." Cal spoke before nodding to the other bodyguard whom McCauley spun to face. The man was drawing a pistol before McCauley opened fire. Five rounds burst into the man's chest in different areas. Smoke was leaving the barrel of the Sergeant's pistol when the body clattered to the floor.

Cal dropped Rose to the floor and jumped into his car. The first bodyguard latched onto the rear of the car as he drove away. A shocked Ruth stared back as blood seeped from the pavement down into the drains.

**3 Weeks Later,**

Things had gone relatively smoothly since moving in. The house was settled and everything was in its place. The only thing missing on this quiet Monday was Jack, who was off at a job interview. He had seen an advertisement for apprenticeships at the local building company. Jack was applying to enter in the architecture department, where he could draw up plans. Jack would be able to do what he loved and get paid well for it.

There was bad news as well though. Rose hadn't been feeling particularly great over the past week or so and she couldn't stand hospitals or doctors. Jack didn't know about it as Rose was sure he'd drag her to the doctor and wait on her hand and foot, something she was trying to escape from.

She looked out the window to see Jack running up the path to the house. He thrust the front door open and beamed a smile at Rose; "I got the job! I really got it!" Rose smiled before grasping her stomach and crumpling to the floor. All she felt next was Jack picking her up and carrying her across the street to the doctor before it all went black.

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Like I said, just a short one. There'll be a bigger on tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!


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